Saturday, February 27, 2010

The good the bad and the poorly......

Hello from a very wet part of Middle England. All vague plans to start weeding a raised bed are shelved. I thought the rain was due tomorrow, but it came today instead. But I have started soaking the sweetpeas ready to be planted out tomorrow. I hope. Jean and I have gone through our substantial collections of seeds for spring and summer, and do not need to buy anything else. We have enough seeds between us to last years. And then some!

I have good news and bad news. The good news is that the mouse has vacated the premises, and seems to have been travelling alone. In the event that he has relatives in hiding, there are 7 traps scattered around. Just in case. All baited with Swiss chocolate, of course. I like to do things with style around here.

The bad news is that the flat roof over the extension housing the laundry area, and shower room downstairs has sprung a leak. Brown water coming down the walls. Oh joy. I had the Roof Man round to investigate, and he tells me that flat roofs last 10-15 years. This one was here before we moved in 20 years ago, so it has done well. It needs to be replaced. He said that roofing needs to be checked. WHAT?? That is definitely a blue job and not a pink one. And I have never felt moved to check a roof in my life. Oops. So Mr Roof Man will return next week to rip of the old and replace it with the new. Give me strength. I could do without these little annoyances. Unplanned annoyances.

However, one needs the rain to stay out, and I can't leave it, or the beams and ceilings will get ruined and we do not want to go there. Oh no we do not. It is just as well that my friends and I have decided to make March the month where we eat all the things in the freezers and cupboards, before we buy a thing.

I am off to Bath on Monday for what is probably the final visit to the hospital. They will always be available if I need to call or see them, but they will no longer be managing my condition. The GP and I will be doing that. They have taught me ways to cope and I just have to use them and adapt. Nothing else to be done. And in the meantime, this wretched cold virus thingy is playing havoc with my days. And nights. I sound as though I have the plague. But I have now invested in industrial strength day and night nurse medicine and will be retiring to the couch. The ripple blanket is growing nicely.

Have a lovely weekend!

7 comments:

Dawn said...

Oh, my, when it rains it pours - literally and figuratively! My British brother is here this week and he is in agreement about your abominable weather this winter.

I hope the roof repair isn't too costly (fat chance!), and that the rest of your roof is okay. Flat roofs do not do well in Colorado, though some still continue to build them. Strange.

We have a nasty flu bug going around here that is catching many - including Kristen and 2 of her 4 girls (so far). I've had all 4 girls here most of two weeks while she suffered from one sort of bug to another. Really exhausting for all of us. Now Dwight has been laid low this morning - can my turn be far behind?? I pray that I escape it, because I seem to be the catch-all for all of the needs of everyone else.

Please have a good week-end! You might enjoy my Show and Tell Friday, or you may remember it from two years ago, if you have a minute.

Rest well!

Shannon O | Confessions of a Loving Wife said...

I agree with Dawn when it rains it pours - literally and figuratively!

Don't these things always pop up at the worst of times, maybe it's to remind us of how much we truly can handle or maybe it's just a fluke. Either way, I am hoping that your roof finds a speedy recovery.

Needled Mom said...

Oh dear!!! Why does it always have to be something? Wouldn't it be nice to have a calm spell for awhile?

At least the mouse is gone. That is good.

Hope your appointment in Bath goes well and that you soon recover from that nasty cold.

Linda said...

I can't think of anything clever to say about the roof thing Linds. I just feel that things that cost a lot of money should last forever - end of story.
I'm sorry you've had so much in recent months. Praying the trip to Bath goes well and that you feel well very soon.
In the meantime rest and crocheting sounds nice.

Janine said...

Sorry to hear about your roofing problems. Does household insurance cover that kind of thing?

Vee said...

I, too, have a flat roof with its many annoyances. Checked? What's "checked"? The carpenter tells me that it needs to be rebuilt on an angle like all good roofs. Okay. Some fine day.

Best of everything with your trip to Bath tomorrow. I hope that they give you yet some more tips for coping and doing well.

Glad that the little mouse has taken off. Swiss chocolate is not tempting anything else? There are days when I could take it out of a trap and eat it myself!

Pam said...

Oh, good mouse, bad roof.

I agree: you need a waterproof roof. Sigh.